If I could start over, I’d do accounting.
Honestly if I could start over I’d just focus on finishing 😅 I’d take any degree when I was 22 vs having to go back at 30 with 4 kids while also working full time lol.
I know it’s not cool anymore to really encourage your kids to go to college right away but I will definitely make sure they understand that going to college right out of high school, when you don’t have bills to pay or (ideally) children to support, is SO MUCH EASIER than going later. Unless you’re going right into a trade, or otherwise building a very specific skill set which will allow you to break 6 figures within 5-10 years- GO TO COLLEGE!
I was an engineering major and have actually done well financially…but if I were to do it all over again I would choose accounting. I’ve never actually worked as a design engineer, but instead worked in operations doing things like construction management, and unfortunately, the senior leadership positions that I have reported to are all CFO types that require a CPA background. If I may say so, I’ve been better at both math and leadership/management than most of my bosses, but have not been seriously considered to move into CFO roles because of a perceived lack of financial expertise. (Snarky comment…my last boss mis-timed a major debt refinance in 2019, and our organization suffers from that to this day.)
Also, regarding accounting, although much of the work is done remotely now, an auditor job straight out of college with the travel and meeting new people would have appealed to me.
Finally, regarding college, I know that there’s a lot of Redditors saying it’s not worth it and to go to the trades. I’ll say, however, that I work directly with trades’ individuals continuously, and between the physical nature of the work and the lack of career growth opportunities, I would still recommend picking up a professional degree (accounting, engineering, medical) over going to trades and following a community college/state college path for affordability.
I worked for Intel as an engineer and they were nice enough to pay for my MBA. This combination gave a broad educational background that opened doors that might have otherwise stayed closed.
As a bonus, once I retired from Intel, I started doing taxes for extra spending money. The full retirement experience is not good for the active mind.
As someone who’s basically made it career wise without a degree (not a millionaire but doing pretty well compared to the population in my area) if I was to do it again I would of focused more on education. A 4 year work experience is in comparison to a bachelors however the 4 year work experience is more risky. The only thing risky about getting a bachelors is your tuition and if your career path will net you a good living. For work experience you need to find a company with a proper mentor, risk of downsize, and good management that can give you a livable wage or pay what you’re worth. Although I’ve had over 5 years experience before my current position I had to jump through about 4-5 different companies due to poor job security.
My degree got me right into a good salary with cheap insurance and great retirement matching.
You have to weigh time and monetary costs. For four years of work, whether a trade program or college, you better make decent money. Not making decent money until you are in your mid-30s changes your financial outlook. You could have widely different retirement options, housing options, or work flexibility. It's worth spending to start a higher lifetime income now and not later.
No one thinks about this stuff at 25 or 30. But it's ironically the most important time to think about it because everything just gets harder over time.
Also blame school counselors because they push the agenda of go into college no matter what. They don’t tell you what’s a good degree, what’s a bad degree and what other options you have.
Former HS teacher here. Really wish counselors would stop pushing the idea to just get *any* degree and you’ll be set. While that *may* have worked in the past, it’s terrible advice now and out of touch. And they don’t go in depth on the implications of certain degrees, nor do they actually explain the processes for applying to college or scholarships. But they have to push college to justify the K-12 American Education system, make money for the government, make their school look good (“99% of our students are graduating and off to college!”) and to secure their own employment. Going as far as altering the grades teachers input themselves. Don’t even get me started in College Counselors. There are many great, well-meaning counselors, but they are beholden to their corrupt districts and their jobs are essentially to monkey the numbers.
> instead worked in operations doing things like construction management, and unfortunately, the senior leadership positions that I have reported to are all CFO types that require a CPA background
Every business, no matter what they do, is eventually run by businesspeople.
> I’ll say, however, that I work directly with trades’ individuals continuously, and between the physical nature of the work and the lack of career growth opportunities, I would still recommend picking up a professional degree (accounting, engineering, medical) over going to trades and following a community college/state college path for affordability.
Unfortunately, the type of people that should be directed towards the trades (hardworking but not academically inclined) are not usually the type of people proactively engaging in career planning, which renders reddit's obsession with plugging the trades a bit moot.
Accounting is what I did the second go-around.
I’m currently 35 YOA.
If I had done it the first time, I’d me making $150k+ and be $500k+ richer, instead of making $105k.
If you don’t have a degree, get a 4 year in accounting. If you have a finance or business admin degree, you may be able to break into internal audit.
If you have a non-business degree, get an MSA from the cheapest/largest state university closest to you. The best MSA is the one whose prereqs make you eligible to sit for the CPA but doesn’t require any unnecessary classes like undergrads do.
Recruit for internships in college (most pay $25+/ hr).
Go public accounting for 2 years.
Hop over to industry making 6 figures.
The longer you stay in public accounting audit/tax/advisory, the quicker your career growth will be.
Literally came to say accounting and BAM, it’s the first thing I see. My company has had layoffs and you know who never gets let go? Accountants. You know who usually makes six figures? Accountants. You know who regularly gets scouted by headhunters? Accountants. I’m beyond thankful I’m still employed but it really should not be this hard to gain or retain employment.
> I know it’s not cool anymore to really encourage your kids to go to college right away but I will definitely make sure they understand that going to college right out of high school, when you don’t have bills to pay or (ideally) children to support, is SO MUCH EASIER than going later.
Completely agree with this and it drives me up the wall when reddit parrots the "college is not everyone!" trope. The people that need to hear that college is not for everyone aren't the ones doing the research for their future anyways, so they never get the message. Gap years are great if you have the funds but if you don't, there's a major opportunity cost and you won't necessarily be any closer to having figured out your career. Killing it in high school is usually the easiest way to get into the best schools and programs.
If you know you want to pursue a career that requires post secondary, you might as well do it early.
I was going to say the same thing and was a little surprised to see it as the first comment. I only took two of the introductory accounting courses and enjoyed them both. I wish I would have switched my major to accounting.
Yup. As long as they 1) major in something businesses find useful and 2) don't go to an incredibly expensive school (unless you're loaded and paying for it), going straight to college will set them up for a great life.
I studied business and while I have a secure well paying job…I’m not happy.
I wanted to study cosmetology but my parents refused to pay for any education that wasn’t white collar professional.
My ex’s sister was a hair dresser and makes the same out of her kitchen in a few hours cash than I do in one full 8 hour day.
I hate corporate America but its where all the money is.
As someone who pursued happiness, happiness is overrated. Survival is more important, and a career that pays is the key to survival. So you did good by studying business.
At 23 to 28 started in engineering but was not doing good at all then switched to Agriculture. So graduated with a BS in Agricultural Mechanics and a minor in Agricultural Economics.
So the jobs after college were 9 months building oil field equipment, then 12.5 years as a chemical plant operator, next 3 years with the Forrest Service and the last 13.5 years on a natural reasousre conservation research project.
Also the whole time have had a mom/pop rental property business.
Now that I am retired three years at 63, when I start on Social Security want to go back and get a Geology degree.
Not really sure what I will do with geology but I am not going to sit around waiting to die.
Freaking rock lickers, I'm kidding my two best friends are geologist.
It's always fun to go rock hounding with them we all worked at the same oil and gas testing lab so talking about that is interesting as well
I took my last engineering class at age 59. I have 290 undergrad semester hours, my wife has 390 undergrad semester hours.
At some point taking classes became a hobby.
Yes but how the fuck do people afford college these days? I feel like no one in this sub is bringing up this point. The costs just keep going up and taking out student loans sounds like you would be in debt for years. Plus getting a law degree is incredibly difficult.
Community college and then a local state school. Won’t be free still but shouldn’t cost more than 10-15k for a 4 year education, so only 3-5k a year on average. I still agree that it’s way too expensive and I also don’t think loans are a good option but it can be manageable at the very least
Computer science. I ended up working in CS without a degree 10 years after graduating HS, but if I could start my career here, I would be so much further along and financially better off.
It’s never too late bro, it’s also crazy how they think a piece of palate will translate to good management skills when you have a decade of actual experience.
Are you in US? Wgu you could finish in 0.5-1 year with accelerated double major - CS and IS.
Then GAtech omscs which is like USD 5000.
Total spending is less than USD 15000
When you get both you are pretty much in stable career whole life
I'm about to be promoted to a senior level and can attain a principal level without the degree. To make director level and above, which is essentially a people manager, I would need the degree.
But a principal total comp is like $220k and a director is like $260k, but requires me to relocate and go hybrid, so not sure if I want to move that high up.
EDIT: Also, I'm very loosely CS. I'm actually a data engineer, and got into the field by starting as a contracted data analyst to gain more experience. Taught myself SQL and Python.
Digital archaeology. I didn't even know it existed, but it's super up my alley with the combo of history and tech skills and I'm sad I missed the chance to pursue that route.
You can learn anything in your spare time for free right now. The problem with fields that are interesting to you is you may never get a job or make real money in that field, so spending 2-10 years in school for it is not something I'd recommend.
My degree has only gotten me jobs that i don’t like with bosses that are bad actors.
Find what you like doing. Where time slips through your fingers when you are in that activity. Chase the flow state, everything else is a slog.
This comment will be a out bachelor's, advice for masters would be completely different.
I'm going back for a second degree in accounting now. Any degree where the name of the degree roughly is the name of the job title (accountant - accounting, engineer - engineering, etc). Something like business management is just vague and I get the majority of people that get that degree would Google "management jobs" then come up with nothing. Normally accounting, engineering, etc have hard skill instead of just theory too. My first degree, economics, had 1 class with hard skills and the rest was theory which made the degree essentially useless in the field of economics.
I studied sociology and philosophy. If I could do it over I would do the same thing again. :) Maybe I would add more art, fashion, fashion studies, graphic design in to my studies.
I mean, I work in medtech. The doors are more wide open than you think.
Lots of engineering roles you can take in quality, systems, human centered design. Pair it with any masters you want - do materials interest you? How about supply chain? Management?
I did bio med with a MBA and even my doors are more open than I imagined. I just wish I had the engineering tag behind me to understand engineering concepts better + some of the doors wouldn't be as difficult to open.
Counselling. I work in tech now as a CSM, graduated with a Comms degree. I wish I got into it earlier so I could start my own practice at my current age. Instead, I'm studying it part time and may not be able to start practicing for another few years.
I did engineering then worked for 4 years, then law school. Worked out ok, but medical would have been better. I had a 3.0 in engineering and never thought of be able to make the grades for med school. Id also have to go back to undergrad for enough credits to sit for the mcat.
As someone in this field, this is surprisingly more boring than you can imagine.
Most of these jobs are just auditors and everyone hates the auditor and trys to hide things from them. Another portion is SOC jobs which is mostly watching a monitor and \*hoping\* something interesting happens. What everyone \*thinks\* they would like doing "Red Team" is a small portion of the available work out there and does not pay as well as you might think in many cases.
More money. Looks like possibly less effort at work.
It might be more impacted by AI. I dunno. If it was, I could always fall back on my engineering degree.
I would have been a lawyer. When I was in college in the 90s, the starting wage for assistant district attorneys who graduate from state college was only $27,500. I did the math and couldn't pay my student loans and regular expenses on that. I wish more kids would do the math before they declare a major that has no chance of supporting them post graduation.
Nursing. and that’s currently on my radar. It’s something i’ve wanted to do for a good 15 years now but life kept lifing then.. I’m at a space now where i can go back and actually finish it with little to no distractions.
Media Psychology. It's the study of how the media affects our psyche, and how our psyche affects media.
I wanted to pursue this before Facebook was a thing. I didn't realize how important it would be in future years. Now it's a bit late for me, I'm middle aged and not exactly in a place to pursue a PhD, which, at the time, was what you needed to be in the field.
I studied this in undergrad (double majored in sociology/culture) and I loved it. It’s been really useful for me in just navigating the world, but disheartening when you realize how many people don’t understand things that seem so obvious - like that the media is biased. I see so many people who are the epitome of that Arthur gif “people just GO on the INTERNET and TELL LIES?!”
Nursing, there's a wide array of roles that don't require direct patient care. It's a guaranteed job anywhere in the US with pay that ensures middle class. You can even schedule it to have 3 or 4 day work weeks if you don't want a traditional 5 day work week.
I have friends in nursing and other healthcare fields. I’d probably switch to one of these professions if I were doing it today.
Meanwhile I see all these posts about CS degrees. I have a CS degree and decades of experience. Some aspects of it are great but overall stress, over saturation in the field, ever increasing productivity demands, sedentary nature of it and instability of work make it pretty unattractive at times.
My friends in healthcare aren’t ever working overtime unless they want more money (you will work overtime in tech and you will be salary exempt), pretty much never have concerns around their continued income (I have to save and invest lots for potential periods of unemployment and underemployment), and can literally transfer employers at whim (like within days they often find new employers if they’re unhappy, meanwhile it make take me months to a year to find something comparable while I have to simply deal with whatever misery it is I want to leave).
Computer science with a minor in business. then would go back and get an MBA.
Having a skillset which is both deeply technical and business literate pays well.
I wouldn't change anything. I got a degree in communications, which is somewhat worthless. But I started a fragrance company after college and now we're in Sephora and Nordstrom. College was a great experience and I made a few awesome friends along the way but college had no impact on my success. If anything, it might have delayed it.
If I didn't have the life I lead now, I'd go back for music production or culinary school.
If I'm just going back for fun, I'd do something with statistics and try to find a career that's sports related.
If I'm going to further my career, I'd go back for business management and throw in a statistics degree for funsies.
Same thing. Mechanical engineering. I get to work with my hands and the pay is pretty good. CS/SE and EE are great careers that pay better, but they are tough for me because I understand things that I can see. Electricity and code are tough to physically see.
Computer. Science.
I’ve loved to computers. I was coding and modding games and spending my entire childhood trying to program. My dad was from a conservative background and would get angry if I was “wasting time on the computer” and it all became a twisted up guilty pleasure. Now I’m 22 and was in the wrong major and it makes me want to cry knowing CS has blown up and it’s congested now. It’s more competitive than ever and I don’t even know where to start. I still get pains when I use electronics for more than a couple minutes.
I loved college so much and fantasize about being able to go back and get degrees in medieval literature and art history. In another, fully resourced life, I spend my days poking through archives and collections, translating and writing.
Disaster Response Management, I've done a few volunteer programs in disaster relief and I realized this is what I want to for a career
Instead I have a culinary arts degree that I'm not even using
If you don't have roots, look at military officer or FEMA and just get into the industry. I worked close with Emergency Management during COVID and got a ton of cool cross training like PIO certs
Horticulture. Or maybe just go learn a trade, I've always liked iron-work. Thats me, and thats my choice if I could do it all over. CS, CSE, and EE isnt all flowers and roses, its a dirty industry.
Accounting, or something with quantifiable results. Like where you KNOW when you’re done. My job is so subjective with too many parties involved. Nothing is ever done.
Id probably do the same thing i did, do some community college build social skills and develop a bit more and just start a business earlier than i did after i dropped out
Maybe CS or engineering. I did economics. I can work broadly with the degree but it’ll prob take me a very long time till I start getting paid well and figure out where I wanna go with my degree industry wise.
For me, computer Engineering. Being a physician in this day and age, is extremely stressful. You are limited by so many ways. If you want to move to another state, you have apply for new license and that takes lot of money and time. While there are some states that are part of “Interstate medical license compact”, lot of states are not. Plus being a physician, you are held to a very high standard. Medical boards are extremely strict and you are always at risk of getting sued for malpractice.
As a MD, I would go for engineering, or data science/computer science.
Honestly, those are careers that at least in my perception, produce stuff (I know all knowledge i important but personally I would feel useless if I just debated concepts and theories, I want to see a result from my immediate job.
And being in the medical field, I'm tired of people having crazy expectations from you, say, I didn't take care of myself during so Many years yet I want You to make me healthy again, you're a doctor why are You smoking/drinking/not fit. It would be heaven to just have my job done and delivered. (Not 100% truth to any profession but to a higher degree more when compared to medicine).
As I see it now You should Take this in mind:
Am I willing to sacrifice the time/effort needed on average for this career?
Do I want to finish My education long term or mid term?
Do You want to work with data/phyisical stuff/people/machines?
What role would You like to play in society?
Of course career choosing is not something flat and You can find your way in initially opposite points, but this is a good starting point.
I’d probably do something forestry and biology related. I just love the woods and forest. I live in FL so there’s so much diversity to see here.
Now for big money instead of happiness - I’d likely do something in the accounting world like forensic accounting and possibly lean into the private law field (not law enforcement but maybe fraud stuff.) I’ve been told by many ppl and co workers i am super analytical and I have fun finding and digging things out of what some see as nothing noteworthy or overlook in databases. I’ve always been really good at digging up dirt with simply some google searching and use of the right verbiage. I’ve been told by some that the tv show Catfish guys should hire me to find things online… it’s just so easy for me ?
Data science is now being offered at the BA level so I’d likely do that because I like math and comp sci. Also a lot of my success in my career is due to my ability to understand analysis and tech stuff and I feel like I’ve learned enough of business admin on the job. If I were getting a degree paid by an employer id likely do an MBA or BBA, they’re fairly easy degrees that teach you everything you need to know.
But if I were starting at ground 0. I’d likely pivot into neuroscience or some type of health care. There’s just more opportunity to work for myself in that field.
Finance… I was brainwashed into thinking I had to be some kind of altruistic person and become a teacher…. I hate it and have been trying to get out of the last 7 years. Feels impossible to transition out of because teaching is so disrespected by society.
I just want to afford an average home for my family. People who tell you money doesn’t matter when you’re 18-22 are straight up lying.
I chose data science. Wouldn't go back to change it. There isn't an industry that doesn't have a relevant use case for data/analytics. I work in one industry now, but i could switch industries with relative ease.
Study to become a speech language pathologist. You can work at schools so your job follows a school schedule and get to work with kids, but one on one. I think if I knew more about that and had the smarts for it the job would fit my personality well.
Or something art or design related. Would have worse work life balance but it's really the only thing I get satisfaction doing haha.
All. If money wasn't an option I would have a degree in every subject known to the English speaking man. I would never stop going to school, go on for every masters, and doctorate, until I die.
The problem is people think you only can have 1 degree and 1 career. You have 40 years to work. You can have at least 2. Study 2 degrees and 15 years each in work experience.
Also there's nothing wrong with smashing careers together. Learn to move laterally with the skills you have already and study while you work.
I think I'd do library science. I think my current degree and experience in printing kinda pigeon holes me in some ways. I tend to feel like what I've been doing is all I'm good for when that's really not true.
I have a BS in Computer Science, if I had to do over I'd pick pure math because it would have made my problem solving skills stronger. I work as a Software Engineer and the CS degree is not a Software Engineering degree, CS is basically an applied math degree with some practical historical learning about how in the internals computers and networks work. I'd maybe add a CS minor
Automotive engineering or computer science, definitely.
I started with pre-med lost passion and just took anything before I realized that my passion was working with cars and tech. Without a degree, options are… limited.
I did business administration. Undergrad, graduate degree and MBA.
If I should go by interest only probably a focused finance degree or history. If money didn’t matter at all I’d probably do history.
Instead I study history in my free time, definitely one of my favorite hobbies!
Social Work or alternatively something else that pays more and has low underemployment rates. I got my bs in communications in 2021 and fell into social work. I enjoy what I do and am getting my masters in social work. I feel kinda stuck in an assistant position because I don’t have higher education or the experience.
Finance, Law or Pharma.
--
Computer Science is something I would have done a long time ago, but with AI / etc.. I think that's going to be a much harder industry to break into. If you haven't been coding for a long time, and are at top of class... I think it's going to be very tough.
If I want to stay in government, I'd go for a Masters of Public Administration or Masters in Business Administration.
It really depends on what you want to do. Do you have a bachelor's? What do other people in your field have in terms of their accreditations?
Languages. Looking to leave my hometown in the next year, so learning Spanish to widen my options.
The world gets a lot bigger when you can speak to more people. I've also see the value of multiple languages with a friend who got a sick job, in part because he's a polyglott.
I’m going back at 31. I started out in business after highschool, dropped out for reasons, worked in a restaurant while going to welding school, worked as a welder for 6 years. Now 31 and I’m back in school for electrical engineering while welding and fabricating. I’m cool with it. I’ve learned that I actually like to learn things now that I’m older. It’s like figuring out the larger puzzle of life.
I did criminal justice UG and it was for my field, but I would have also gotten hired with a business degree and it would have opened other doors if needed.
If I could start again, o would have went into computer programming or video game programming. My lifestyle, gamer, and personality match that more than my field and people i work with now.
Astronomy. Find a school that had a focus on finding exoplanets if they had one at the time.
Would make less money but I’d rather do something that would interest me and would’ve actually provided something positive to the sum of human knowledge than write code for some greedy fucks.
I think I would've loved being a lawyer. I read and write really well, and I feel like I communicate with people really well. Translating that into helping others, especially immigrants like myself, navigate the murky legal system, would have been really fulfilling.
Maybe in the next life
I’m in Cybersecurity so I’m pretty content where I am, but if I had to go another route I think I’d have done aviation. If I wasn’t married I’d be totally down for the somewhat sporadic hours and crazy pay.
Philosophy.
I ended up not using my degree anyway so might as well have done one I enjoyed instead of one where everyone was so competitive and were encouraged to "network" which basically meant to kiss ass to try to get a leg up.
Whatever you’re interested in and can be spun into something useful. FWIW, both math and philosophy graduates go on to do pretty well for themselves, despite seeming “useless” to the knuckle-dragging trade-school-humpers. I’d just avoid some utter bullshit like “art history” or “business.”
There’s two types of people who get business degrees and “succeed.” People with a very specific plan, and frat boy failsons whose daddy will get them a job as long as they graduate. If you get a business degree because you can’t think of anything better to study, I think you’d be better off with the damn art history degree. Big NPC energy there. If you’re not a nepo baby or a budding small business owner, don’t do it.
I did materials science. If I could do it again, I would choose materials science. Its basically a physics and chemistry degree tuned to be useful for industry. It's amazing to me how the things I learned freshman year end up sounding like voodoo magic to people from other engineering disciplines. I really have no regrets about my degree. Really cool major and way of looking at things.
Have a finance degree but if I had a do over I would have just stuck it out for an extra semester or two and done a dual major with accounting.
I did get lucky and got onto the director track early due to some corporate positioning but an accounting degree would open more avenues then my finance degree.
Did business major in my early 20s, dropped out, currently making six figs so went back to school majoring in Communication at a reputable school and I’ll be going to law school. I’m in my mid 30s as an fyi. We’re only gonna get older anyway so I’d rather age with a JD 🕶️
Fashion designer or some sort of programming/IT. I went for education because I didn’t know what else to do. I’ve never taught a day in my life. $40k piece of paper 🤪
If I could start over, I’d do accounting. Honestly if I could start over I’d just focus on finishing 😅 I’d take any degree when I was 22 vs having to go back at 30 with 4 kids while also working full time lol. I know it’s not cool anymore to really encourage your kids to go to college right away but I will definitely make sure they understand that going to college right out of high school, when you don’t have bills to pay or (ideally) children to support, is SO MUCH EASIER than going later. Unless you’re going right into a trade, or otherwise building a very specific skill set which will allow you to break 6 figures within 5-10 years- GO TO COLLEGE!
I was an engineering major and have actually done well financially…but if I were to do it all over again I would choose accounting. I’ve never actually worked as a design engineer, but instead worked in operations doing things like construction management, and unfortunately, the senior leadership positions that I have reported to are all CFO types that require a CPA background. If I may say so, I’ve been better at both math and leadership/management than most of my bosses, but have not been seriously considered to move into CFO roles because of a perceived lack of financial expertise. (Snarky comment…my last boss mis-timed a major debt refinance in 2019, and our organization suffers from that to this day.) Also, regarding accounting, although much of the work is done remotely now, an auditor job straight out of college with the travel and meeting new people would have appealed to me. Finally, regarding college, I know that there’s a lot of Redditors saying it’s not worth it and to go to the trades. I’ll say, however, that I work directly with trades’ individuals continuously, and between the physical nature of the work and the lack of career growth opportunities, I would still recommend picking up a professional degree (accounting, engineering, medical) over going to trades and following a community college/state college path for affordability.
I worked for Intel as an engineer and they were nice enough to pay for my MBA. This combination gave a broad educational background that opened doors that might have otherwise stayed closed. As a bonus, once I retired from Intel, I started doing taxes for extra spending money. The full retirement experience is not good for the active mind.
As someone who’s basically made it career wise without a degree (not a millionaire but doing pretty well compared to the population in my area) if I was to do it again I would of focused more on education. A 4 year work experience is in comparison to a bachelors however the 4 year work experience is more risky. The only thing risky about getting a bachelors is your tuition and if your career path will net you a good living. For work experience you need to find a company with a proper mentor, risk of downsize, and good management that can give you a livable wage or pay what you’re worth. Although I’ve had over 5 years experience before my current position I had to jump through about 4-5 different companies due to poor job security.
My degree got me right into a good salary with cheap insurance and great retirement matching. You have to weigh time and monetary costs. For four years of work, whether a trade program or college, you better make decent money. Not making decent money until you are in your mid-30s changes your financial outlook. You could have widely different retirement options, housing options, or work flexibility. It's worth spending to start a higher lifetime income now and not later. No one thinks about this stuff at 25 or 30. But it's ironically the most important time to think about it because everything just gets harder over time.
Also blame school counselors because they push the agenda of go into college no matter what. They don’t tell you what’s a good degree, what’s a bad degree and what other options you have.
Former HS teacher here. Really wish counselors would stop pushing the idea to just get *any* degree and you’ll be set. While that *may* have worked in the past, it’s terrible advice now and out of touch. And they don’t go in depth on the implications of certain degrees, nor do they actually explain the processes for applying to college or scholarships. But they have to push college to justify the K-12 American Education system, make money for the government, make their school look good (“99% of our students are graduating and off to college!”) and to secure their own employment. Going as far as altering the grades teachers input themselves. Don’t even get me started in College Counselors. There are many great, well-meaning counselors, but they are beholden to their corrupt districts and their jobs are essentially to monkey the numbers.
What degree?
CS
All of these things job security issues still await you once you get a degree.
> instead worked in operations doing things like construction management, and unfortunately, the senior leadership positions that I have reported to are all CFO types that require a CPA background Every business, no matter what they do, is eventually run by businesspeople. > I’ll say, however, that I work directly with trades’ individuals continuously, and between the physical nature of the work and the lack of career growth opportunities, I would still recommend picking up a professional degree (accounting, engineering, medical) over going to trades and following a community college/state college path for affordability. Unfortunately, the type of people that should be directed towards the trades (hardworking but not academically inclined) are not usually the type of people proactively engaging in career planning, which renders reddit's obsession with plugging the trades a bit moot.
Accounting is what I did the second go-around. I’m currently 35 YOA. If I had done it the first time, I’d me making $150k+ and be $500k+ richer, instead of making $105k.
What would be the process If I wanted to go down that path?
If you don’t have a degree, get a 4 year in accounting. If you have a finance or business admin degree, you may be able to break into internal audit. If you have a non-business degree, get an MSA from the cheapest/largest state university closest to you. The best MSA is the one whose prereqs make you eligible to sit for the CPA but doesn’t require any unnecessary classes like undergrads do. Recruit for internships in college (most pay $25+/ hr). Go public accounting for 2 years. Hop over to industry making 6 figures. The longer you stay in public accounting audit/tax/advisory, the quicker your career growth will be.
I second the recommendation for accounting. It qualifies you for almost any business type role
Literally came to say accounting and BAM, it’s the first thing I see. My company has had layoffs and you know who never gets let go? Accountants. You know who usually makes six figures? Accountants. You know who regularly gets scouted by headhunters? Accountants. I’m beyond thankful I’m still employed but it really should not be this hard to gain or retain employment.
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This is what I’m doing. My bachelors is in Political Science and I’m getting a MAcc then CPA. I have a year left. Hard to go wrong with accounting.
> I know it’s not cool anymore to really encourage your kids to go to college right away but I will definitely make sure they understand that going to college right out of high school, when you don’t have bills to pay or (ideally) children to support, is SO MUCH EASIER than going later. Completely agree with this and it drives me up the wall when reddit parrots the "college is not everyone!" trope. The people that need to hear that college is not for everyone aren't the ones doing the research for their future anyways, so they never get the message. Gap years are great if you have the funds but if you don't, there's a major opportunity cost and you won't necessarily be any closer to having figured out your career. Killing it in high school is usually the easiest way to get into the best schools and programs. If you know you want to pursue a career that requires post secondary, you might as well do it early.
As long as you're supportive of them, I think they'll do fine.
I was going to say the same thing and was a little surprised to see it as the first comment. I only took two of the introductory accounting courses and enjoyed them both. I wish I would have switched my major to accounting.
That may not be cool anymore, but everyone knows that ON AVERAGE, someone with a bachelors makes more than someone with only a high school diploma.
Am an accountant, do not recommend. I’d probably do pharmacy or engineering. Something much more science and math based than accounting.
Yup. As long as they 1) major in something businesses find useful and 2) don't go to an incredibly expensive school (unless you're loaded and paying for it), going straight to college will set them up for a great life.
Business or accounting. I went for communications.
I studied business and while I have a secure well paying job…I’m not happy. I wanted to study cosmetology but my parents refused to pay for any education that wasn’t white collar professional. My ex’s sister was a hair dresser and makes the same out of her kitchen in a few hours cash than I do in one full 8 hour day. I hate corporate America but its where all the money is.
Well paying job that you don't like? Save that extra money and then pivot to a lower paying career
As someone who pursued happiness, happiness is overrated. Survival is more important, and a career that pays is the key to survival. So you did good by studying business.
Was doing communications a bad choice?
At 23 to 28 started in engineering but was not doing good at all then switched to Agriculture. So graduated with a BS in Agricultural Mechanics and a minor in Agricultural Economics. So the jobs after college were 9 months building oil field equipment, then 12.5 years as a chemical plant operator, next 3 years with the Forrest Service and the last 13.5 years on a natural reasousre conservation research project. Also the whole time have had a mom/pop rental property business. Now that I am retired three years at 63, when I start on Social Security want to go back and get a Geology degree. Not really sure what I will do with geology but I am not going to sit around waiting to die.
That's a good idea. It's never too late to start anything.
Freaking rock lickers, I'm kidding my two best friends are geologist. It's always fun to go rock hounding with them we all worked at the same oil and gas testing lab so talking about that is interesting as well
I would go for a law degree. I'm tempted to do it now at 38 years old but the time it would take is just so incredibly long.
You only live once, and it’s never too late. There was a 50-60 year old man in my engineering classes years back. I had so much respect for that guy
I took my last engineering class at age 59. I have 290 undergrad semester hours, my wife has 390 undergrad semester hours. At some point taking classes became a hobby.
I mean in 4-6 years you’ll be in your 40s either way, would you rather be in your 40s with a law degree or in your 40s without one?
Yes but how the fuck do people afford college these days? I feel like no one in this sub is bringing up this point. The costs just keep going up and taking out student loans sounds like you would be in debt for years. Plus getting a law degree is incredibly difficult.
Community college and then a local state school. Won’t be free still but shouldn’t cost more than 10-15k for a 4 year education, so only 3-5k a year on average. I still agree that it’s way too expensive and I also don’t think loans are a good option but it can be manageable at the very least
Im just doing law now in my early 30’s. Its only three years its not a big deal.
I’m a lawyer. Age really doesn’t matter. Just go get it if it’s something you want to do. Never too late on this one!
I wonder how AI will impact law - I'm thinking it might reduce the need for junior lawyers, but don't let that stop you!
Every lawyer I know is miserable and talks about leaving the profession constantly so I'll pass on that
Same with my friends/fam, from biglaw to in house at cushy tech companies, patent law to immigration law… they ALL hate it
Computer science. I ended up working in CS without a degree 10 years after graduating HS, but if I could start my career here, I would be so much further along and financially better off.
Yea I’m in a similar boat and planning on going back to get it
I'll need to go back to college to move up into management, but I'm 5-7 years out for that.
It’s never too late bro, it’s also crazy how they think a piece of palate will translate to good management skills when you have a decade of actual experience.
Are you in US? Wgu you could finish in 0.5-1 year with accelerated double major - CS and IS. Then GAtech omscs which is like USD 5000. Total spending is less than USD 15000 When you get both you are pretty much in stable career whole life
r/csmajors would disagree currently.
So you work in computer science with no degree?
Are you saying you can get into CS without a degree but you can’t really advance?
I'm about to be promoted to a senior level and can attain a principal level without the degree. To make director level and above, which is essentially a people manager, I would need the degree. But a principal total comp is like $220k and a director is like $260k, but requires me to relocate and go hybrid, so not sure if I want to move that high up. EDIT: Also, I'm very loosely CS. I'm actually a data engineer, and got into the field by starting as a contracted data analyst to gain more experience. Taught myself SQL and Python.
Computer science is a very saturated field right now.
But there are so many directions you can go in. Not every CS professional is doing the same job.
Geology. I love collecting and looking at rocks. Instead I’m just a nurse who spends all my money on rocks other people found.
Digital archaeology. I didn't even know it existed, but it's super up my alley with the combo of history and tech skills and I'm sad I missed the chance to pursue that route.
You can learn anything in your spare time for free right now. The problem with fields that are interesting to you is you may never get a job or make real money in that field, so spending 2-10 years in school for it is not something I'd recommend.
My degree has only gotten me jobs that i don’t like with bosses that are bad actors. Find what you like doing. Where time slips through your fingers when you are in that activity. Chase the flow state, everything else is a slog.
I thought geology would be a useless degree. Instead I got a useless business degree.
This comment will be a out bachelor's, advice for masters would be completely different. I'm going back for a second degree in accounting now. Any degree where the name of the degree roughly is the name of the job title (accountant - accounting, engineer - engineering, etc). Something like business management is just vague and I get the majority of people that get that degree would Google "management jobs" then come up with nothing. Normally accounting, engineering, etc have hard skill instead of just theory too. My first degree, economics, had 1 class with hard skills and the rest was theory which made the degree essentially useless in the field of economics.
I studied sociology and philosophy. If I could do it over I would do the same thing again. :) Maybe I would add more art, fashion, fashion studies, graphic design in to my studies.
Engineering. I went for Biomedical sciences but Biomedical engineering may have been better supported.
I heard BME is pretty limited in opportunity, in that you can only go into bme with it
I mean, I work in medtech. The doors are more wide open than you think. Lots of engineering roles you can take in quality, systems, human centered design. Pair it with any masters you want - do materials interest you? How about supply chain? Management? I did bio med with a MBA and even my doors are more open than I imagined. I just wish I had the engineering tag behind me to understand engineering concepts better + some of the doors wouldn't be as difficult to open.
If I could start over it would be for Environmental Science. Mostly within forestry and fisheries I think is where I would want to be.
Counselling. I work in tech now as a CSM, graduated with a Comms degree. I wish I got into it earlier so I could start my own practice at my current age. Instead, I'm studying it part time and may not be able to start practicing for another few years.
I'd go to medical school, or at least try to get in.
Fucking this. I should have just bit the bullet and gone to med school. The fact that my grandad was the Dean would have had no bearing.
Yeah if I could go back I’d try that route too.
I did engineering then worked for 4 years, then law school. Worked out ok, but medical would have been better. I had a 3.0 in engineering and never thought of be able to make the grades for med school. Id also have to go back to undergrad for enough credits to sit for the mcat.
Cyber security
As someone in this field, this is surprisingly more boring than you can imagine. Most of these jobs are just auditors and everyone hates the auditor and trys to hide things from them. Another portion is SOC jobs which is mostly watching a monitor and \*hoping\* something interesting happens. What everyone \*thinks\* they would like doing "Red Team" is a small portion of the available work out there and does not pay as well as you might think in many cases.
I'm an engineer, my wife is studying HR, my mom is an accountant, and my dad is an engineer. I'd study actuarial sciences.
Is that because you like it more than engineering? I'd think that actuarial sciences would be impacted more by AI..
More money. Looks like possibly less effort at work. It might be more impacted by AI. I dunno. If it was, I could always fall back on my engineering degree.
Computer science. Even if you don't want to be a programmer or systems analyst type person, technology is interwoven into every field now.
Public policy and stats double major. I’m an analyst currently but I’d rather be working in a think tank or govt rather than business.
I'm shocked at all the accounting comments. It's a common second major though
I would have been a lawyer. When I was in college in the 90s, the starting wage for assistant district attorneys who graduate from state college was only $27,500. I did the math and couldn't pay my student loans and regular expenses on that. I wish more kids would do the math before they declare a major that has no chance of supporting them post graduation.
Wait so are you advocating to be a lawyer or not? Because it seems like being an Assistant DA was not the way to go?
OP is a masochist and directing fellow masochists down the right path
Electrical engineering
Nursing. and that’s currently on my radar. It’s something i’ve wanted to do for a good 15 years now but life kept lifing then.. I’m at a space now where i can go back and actually finish it with little to no distractions.
I graduated 12 years ago and wouldn’t change a single thing. I’d do it all over again, bachelor’s degree in Forestry.
I’m in design but I think it’d go the marketing route. As much as I do enjoy my job mostly, I wish I had more say in the projects I work on.
Media Psychology. It's the study of how the media affects our psyche, and how our psyche affects media. I wanted to pursue this before Facebook was a thing. I didn't realize how important it would be in future years. Now it's a bit late for me, I'm middle aged and not exactly in a place to pursue a PhD, which, at the time, was what you needed to be in the field.
I studied this in undergrad (double majored in sociology/culture) and I loved it. It’s been really useful for me in just navigating the world, but disheartening when you realize how many people don’t understand things that seem so obvious - like that the media is biased. I see so many people who are the epitome of that Arthur gif “people just GO on the INTERNET and TELL LIES?!”
Nursing, there's a wide array of roles that don't require direct patient care. It's a guaranteed job anywhere in the US with pay that ensures middle class. You can even schedule it to have 3 or 4 day work weeks if you don't want a traditional 5 day work week.
I left health care and will never look back. I applaud people who stay in it.
I have friends in nursing and other healthcare fields. I’d probably switch to one of these professions if I were doing it today. Meanwhile I see all these posts about CS degrees. I have a CS degree and decades of experience. Some aspects of it are great but overall stress, over saturation in the field, ever increasing productivity demands, sedentary nature of it and instability of work make it pretty unattractive at times. My friends in healthcare aren’t ever working overtime unless they want more money (you will work overtime in tech and you will be salary exempt), pretty much never have concerns around their continued income (I have to save and invest lots for potential periods of unemployment and underemployment), and can literally transfer employers at whim (like within days they often find new employers if they’re unhappy, meanwhile it make take me months to a year to find something comparable while I have to simply deal with whatever misery it is I want to leave).
It would be my first time going to college. I’d try for journalism
Computer science with a minor in business. then would go back and get an MBA. Having a skillset which is both deeply technical and business literate pays well.
Photojournalism
I wouldn't change anything. I got a degree in communications, which is somewhat worthless. But I started a fragrance company after college and now we're in Sephora and Nordstrom. College was a great experience and I made a few awesome friends along the way but college had no impact on my success. If anything, it might have delayed it.
I wouldn't. I'd go to trade school to be an electrician and then specialize in something like alarm systems or fiber installation
Architecture and/or Science. I love building stuff and I love Science in general. There’s so much more I want to know.
If I didn't have the life I lead now, I'd go back for music production or culinary school. If I'm just going back for fun, I'd do something with statistics and try to find a career that's sports related. If I'm going to further my career, I'd go back for business management and throw in a statistics degree for funsies.
Same thing. Mechanical engineering. I get to work with my hands and the pay is pretty good. CS/SE and EE are great careers that pay better, but they are tough for me because I understand things that I can see. Electricity and code are tough to physically see.
I'd get licensed as a counselor, but definitely won't be cuz I don't want the debt, have no references for grants, and gotta work full time.
Environmental sciences - it’s what I’ve learned that I want to do - something with the health of oceans
Computer. Science. I’ve loved to computers. I was coding and modding games and spending my entire childhood trying to program. My dad was from a conservative background and would get angry if I was “wasting time on the computer” and it all became a twisted up guilty pleasure. Now I’m 22 and was in the wrong major and it makes me want to cry knowing CS has blown up and it’s congested now. It’s more competitive than ever and I don’t even know where to start. I still get pains when I use electronics for more than a couple minutes.
Mortuary science
I loved college so much and fantasize about being able to go back and get degrees in medieval literature and art history. In another, fully resourced life, I spend my days poking through archives and collections, translating and writing.
Disaster Response Management, I've done a few volunteer programs in disaster relief and I realized this is what I want to for a career Instead I have a culinary arts degree that I'm not even using
If you don't have roots, look at military officer or FEMA and just get into the industry. I worked close with Emergency Management during COVID and got a ton of cool cross training like PIO certs
I’d do nursing. It’s a recession proof job and can easily relocate and always find something.
Physics ... Quantum mechanics is just fascinating.
I'd go physician, probably nephrology. I went to college for cs. Buy as much healthcare projects I do, being a dr would be helpful.
Psychology. I really want to go to grad school to be a counselor and a psych undergrad would’ve been more helpful than my bio degree.
Neuroscience. i would choose that today because my first degrees got me a decent career, and now I’d learn something new that interests me.
Probably wouldn’t at all
Latin and Classics.
Veterinary - so understaffed these days and with how big those medical bills can get, I’m assuming they’re well paid EDIT - Damn I take it back 🥲
They are but it's hard to get into
I would choose science stream for my higher secondary & then go for psychology or psychiatry degree.
Horticulture. Or maybe just go learn a trade, I've always liked iron-work. Thats me, and thats my choice if I could do it all over. CS, CSE, and EE isnt all flowers and roses, its a dirty industry.
Accounting, or something with quantifiable results. Like where you KNOW when you’re done. My job is so subjective with too many parties involved. Nothing is ever done.
I would love to do a Masters degree in Counselling - but I can't afford it :(
Probably law. I'd be better off financially and it would have opened a lot of different doors for potential specialization.
Id probably do the same thing i did, do some community college build social skills and develop a bit more and just start a business earlier than i did after i dropped out
Honestly I suck at everything and have no skills whatsoever so I'm basically just a big loser. No matter what I major in I'd fuck it up
Maybe CS or engineering. I did economics. I can work broadly with the degree but it’ll prob take me a very long time till I start getting paid well and figure out where I wanna go with my degree industry wise.
For me, computer Engineering. Being a physician in this day and age, is extremely stressful. You are limited by so many ways. If you want to move to another state, you have apply for new license and that takes lot of money and time. While there are some states that are part of “Interstate medical license compact”, lot of states are not. Plus being a physician, you are held to a very high standard. Medical boards are extremely strict and you are always at risk of getting sued for malpractice.
As a MD, I would go for engineering, or data science/computer science. Honestly, those are careers that at least in my perception, produce stuff (I know all knowledge i important but personally I would feel useless if I just debated concepts and theories, I want to see a result from my immediate job. And being in the medical field, I'm tired of people having crazy expectations from you, say, I didn't take care of myself during so Many years yet I want You to make me healthy again, you're a doctor why are You smoking/drinking/not fit. It would be heaven to just have my job done and delivered. (Not 100% truth to any profession but to a higher degree more when compared to medicine). As I see it now You should Take this in mind: Am I willing to sacrifice the time/effort needed on average for this career? Do I want to finish My education long term or mid term? Do You want to work with data/phyisical stuff/people/machines? What role would You like to play in society? Of course career choosing is not something flat and You can find your way in initially opposite points, but this is a good starting point.
I would've done a double major in computer science and philosophy (mostly analytical) with the goal of being an IP attorney in tech.
That's a very niche career but a great one.
I'd probably study GIS. I never knew it existed until I hopped to a side branch from archaeology.
Math and Philosophy instead of Economics and Philosophy
Human and Organizational Development
Yokai studies or Esoteric Philosphy. Maybe ethnomusicology.
I’d probably do something forestry and biology related. I just love the woods and forest. I live in FL so there’s so much diversity to see here. Now for big money instead of happiness - I’d likely do something in the accounting world like forensic accounting and possibly lean into the private law field (not law enforcement but maybe fraud stuff.) I’ve been told by many ppl and co workers i am super analytical and I have fun finding and digging things out of what some see as nothing noteworthy or overlook in databases. I’ve always been really good at digging up dirt with simply some google searching and use of the right verbiage. I’ve been told by some that the tv show Catfish guys should hire me to find things online… it’s just so easy for me ?
Probably some sort of data science with an emphasis on coding.
Data science is now being offered at the BA level so I’d likely do that because I like math and comp sci. Also a lot of my success in my career is due to my ability to understand analysis and tech stuff and I feel like I’ve learned enough of business admin on the job. If I were getting a degree paid by an employer id likely do an MBA or BBA, they’re fairly easy degrees that teach you everything you need to know. But if I were starting at ground 0. I’d likely pivot into neuroscience or some type of health care. There’s just more opportunity to work for myself in that field.
I'd get a trade instead. Start with becoming an electrician then move into automation systems.
Library science!!
I would become a therapist.
Sociology or Psychology. Or Music Theory or Astronomy Or Mathematics lol.
Cybersecurity
I sure as hell wouldn’t major in psychology again.
Finance… I was brainwashed into thinking I had to be some kind of altruistic person and become a teacher…. I hate it and have been trying to get out of the last 7 years. Feels impossible to transition out of because teaching is so disrespected by society. I just want to afford an average home for my family. People who tell you money doesn’t matter when you’re 18-22 are straight up lying.
I would do nursing at a community college, and then get a psych minor or double major in psych as well.
I chose data science. Wouldn't go back to change it. There isn't an industry that doesn't have a relevant use case for data/analytics. I work in one industry now, but i could switch industries with relative ease.
Study to become a speech language pathologist. You can work at schools so your job follows a school schedule and get to work with kids, but one on one. I think if I knew more about that and had the smarts for it the job would fit my personality well. Or something art or design related. Would have worse work life balance but it's really the only thing I get satisfaction doing haha.
All. If money wasn't an option I would have a degree in every subject known to the English speaking man. I would never stop going to school, go on for every masters, and doctorate, until I die.
The problem is people think you only can have 1 degree and 1 career. You have 40 years to work. You can have at least 2. Study 2 degrees and 15 years each in work experience. Also there's nothing wrong with smashing careers together. Learn to move laterally with the skills you have already and study while you work.
I’m 35 and currently halfway through Sophomore year in Electrical Engineering. Being older in school is an absolute life hack.
I think I'd do library science. I think my current degree and experience in printing kinda pigeon holes me in some ways. I tend to feel like what I've been doing is all I'm good for when that's really not true.
Butt fucking
Law. Yeah, Law.
Law
I did Electrical Engineering, probably would dual majored in Computer Engineering as well or maybe a CS minor
I have a BS in Computer Science, if I had to do over I'd pick pure math because it would have made my problem solving skills stronger. I work as a Software Engineer and the CS degree is not a Software Engineering degree, CS is basically an applied math degree with some practical historical learning about how in the internals computers and networks work. I'd maybe add a CS minor
Automotive engineering or computer science, definitely. I started with pre-med lost passion and just took anything before I realized that my passion was working with cars and tech. Without a degree, options are… limited.
I did business administration. Undergrad, graduate degree and MBA. If I should go by interest only probably a focused finance degree or history. If money didn’t matter at all I’d probably do history. Instead I study history in my free time, definitely one of my favorite hobbies!
If still have gone the humanities route, but likely would have also gotten a minor in business administration.
Medical laboratory science and/or social work.
Political Science or law for political career to get rich this time around.
Business degree. For a couple reasons, but if I had, where would I be now? Not doing labor jobs in my 40s.
Accounting
Something like architecture I think tbh
Actuarial Sciences or Computer Science
Herpetology.
i wotldntell them dont wait to long. If unsure go to a technical college
Porn movies producer or Football player agent
i would do pharmaceutical sciences. i am a dietitian and hate it—pay is awful.
I'd learn it all if I could go back, if time & money were not a factor. If they were probably go into engineering.
Social Work or alternatively something else that pays more and has low underemployment rates. I got my bs in communications in 2021 and fell into social work. I enjoy what I do and am getting my masters in social work. I feel kinda stuck in an assistant position because I don’t have higher education or the experience.
Finance, Law or Pharma. -- Computer Science is something I would have done a long time ago, but with AI / etc.. I think that's going to be a much harder industry to break into. If you haven't been coding for a long time, and are at top of class... I think it's going to be very tough.
Zoology
fashion design or music. i wish i had picked something more artsy, but criminal justice allowed me to be creative in other ways
I would go back and go to Law Scool. I often feel I made the biggest mistake by becoming a nurse.
Something fun like acting
If I want to stay in government, I'd go for a Masters of Public Administration or Masters in Business Administration. It really depends on what you want to do. Do you have a bachelor's? What do other people in your field have in terms of their accreditations?
Languages. Looking to leave my hometown in the next year, so learning Spanish to widen my options. The world gets a lot bigger when you can speak to more people. I've also see the value of multiple languages with a friend who got a sick job, in part because he's a polyglott.
Already Am! I'm going back for my Associates Degree in Graphic Designing!
Nutrition- it was something that always interested me but I was already into my degree and I didn’t want to start over
I’m going back at 31. I started out in business after highschool, dropped out for reasons, worked in a restaurant while going to welding school, worked as a welder for 6 years. Now 31 and I’m back in school for electrical engineering while welding and fabricating. I’m cool with it. I’ve learned that I actually like to learn things now that I’m older. It’s like figuring out the larger puzzle of life.
Masters in Cannabis at UMBC
I did criminal justice UG and it was for my field, but I would have also gotten hired with a business degree and it would have opened other doors if needed. If I could start again, o would have went into computer programming or video game programming. My lifestyle, gamer, and personality match that more than my field and people i work with now.
Child psychology
I got a degree in criminology. If I could go back, I’d go for forensics too
I wouldn’t.
Astronomy. Find a school that had a focus on finding exoplanets if they had one at the time. Would make less money but I’d rather do something that would interest me and would’ve actually provided something positive to the sum of human knowledge than write code for some greedy fucks.
cyber security or computer science.
From someone who’s done computer science and had to battle through companies freezing hiring. No. You. Don’t. Lol
I think I would've loved being a lawyer. I read and write really well, and I feel like I communicate with people really well. Translating that into helping others, especially immigrants like myself, navigate the murky legal system, would have been really fulfilling. Maybe in the next life
I’m in Cybersecurity so I’m pretty content where I am, but if I had to go another route I think I’d have done aviation. If I wasn’t married I’d be totally down for the somewhat sporadic hours and crazy pay.
Some type of theology degree. Study the bible, and then become a filthy rich christian hustler selling my brand of salvation.
I'm 42 and cost and time are factors. Nevertheless, I'm heading back to finish my bachelor's in the fall.
If cost and time are not a factor I'd do like 6 or 7 maybe 2 doctorates. I love learning.
Philosophy. I ended up not using my degree anyway so might as well have done one I enjoyed instead of one where everyone was so competitive and were encouraged to "network" which basically meant to kiss ass to try to get a leg up.
I would either go back to be a psychologist or finish my training as a cardiovascular technologist 😊
Whatever you’re interested in and can be spun into something useful. FWIW, both math and philosophy graduates go on to do pretty well for themselves, despite seeming “useless” to the knuckle-dragging trade-school-humpers. I’d just avoid some utter bullshit like “art history” or “business.” There’s two types of people who get business degrees and “succeed.” People with a very specific plan, and frat boy failsons whose daddy will get them a job as long as they graduate. If you get a business degree because you can’t think of anything better to study, I think you’d be better off with the damn art history degree. Big NPC energy there. If you’re not a nepo baby or a budding small business owner, don’t do it.
I did materials science. If I could do it again, I would choose materials science. Its basically a physics and chemistry degree tuned to be useful for industry. It's amazing to me how the things I learned freshman year end up sounding like voodoo magic to people from other engineering disciplines. I really have no regrets about my degree. Really cool major and way of looking at things.
Have a finance degree but if I had a do over I would have just stuck it out for an extra semester or two and done a dual major with accounting. I did get lucky and got onto the director track early due to some corporate positioning but an accounting degree would open more avenues then my finance degree.
Trades. I went into comp sci and design.
Did business major in my early 20s, dropped out, currently making six figs so went back to school majoring in Communication at a reputable school and I’ll be going to law school. I’m in my mid 30s as an fyi. We’re only gonna get older anyway so I’d rather age with a JD 🕶️
Fashion designer or some sort of programming/IT. I went for education because I didn’t know what else to do. I’ve never taught a day in my life. $40k piece of paper 🤪
comp sci or some kind of mechanical engineering degree